tom tits

[Richardp]

This year I'm growing Sweet William,Gardeners delight,and a beef tomato.
The gardeners delight is doing really well, I've always taken off the side shoots,and only kept five trusses, never questioned the reason just assumed it should be done, but the sweet William is trying like crazy to send out side shoots, so I'm wondering if its a variety that should be left to spout them? anyone growing these know?
I havnt done a search on the forum to see if anyone has covered this already, if you have sorry but I like to communicate.

 

[Old Perennial]

A tomato will normally try to bush but in order to get decent sized tomatoes you train a single stem up a cane and pinch out the shoots. Stop it at five or six trusses depending on the summer. Long hot summer might rippen seven or eight trusses. Thats a suck it and see part of growing. But green tomato chutney taste great!

I dont know if the william tomato is a bush variety but why not try letting one grow as it wants and the other up a cane. Only difference will be size and quantity.

 

[AndyBill]

what is a truss?

 

[libby lou lou]

A truss is the little stalk that comes off the main stem,supplying your flowers, which become your toms.

 

[Richardp]

Old Perennial, I agree with you about the green tomato chutney Delicious.
We've only got a small glasshouse and have always just grown tomatoes in it, I put two to a grow bag and get six grow bags in there, I just love tomatoes well I'm not being totally truthful here as Caroline grows a bed of rocket in there as well, BUT! next year I thought I try something different, maybe peppers, I don't really need all them Tomatoes um! or maybe I do!!!

libby lou lou, what a great job you did of describing/explaining the truss or is it trusses?

 

[Old Perennial]

Now then Richardp, Im a Yorkshireman and we give nowt away. I prefer growing toms in buckets with the bucket in a bowl filled with gravel. This is similar to the traditional ring culture method not that common now im told. It has certain advantages. You can stagger the toms to give 18inches spacing to maximise the growing area, (this way you might be able to grow the same number of toms plus the peppers etc.) and watering is much less critical.
ten litre buckets from the builders merchant and cut a six inch hole in the base. Fill with John Innes no 3 or other. Fill plastic kitchen bowl with gravel to the top. Sit bucket on gravel. plant tom with cane as normal.

water in feed into bucket but apply water only to bowl. Fine feeder roots are generally shallow but the larger water searching roots will go deep into the gravel. Keep the gravel wet. watering is much less critical due to higher moisture content of the bowl and the plant has more roots so generally crops better.

For ease I use a superspray hose end sprayer filled with Maxicrop attached to my hosepipe. It will dilute as you spray or apply clean water. Its quicker and easier to feed a full greenhouse than using a watering can. They have a website www.superspray.co.uk
My grandfather used to grow tomatos this way. I remember he had a pot bellied wood stove with 4 inch waterpipes running round the edge of the house. Warm as toast in the winter.

 

[Richardp]

Old Perennial!
I used to work on a farm where they grew tomatoes by that method and they were very tasty and big plants, maybe next year I'll try, to late this year as I've already got tomatoes fruiting.
btw I've ordered one of them superspray and they've asked me who told me about them so I'll say I was told by an 'old Perennial'!!
theyre nice people and said I was the only one in xxx to have one
cheers
richard

 

[Old Perennial]

Your right Richard, its not my real name but just how I feel!!!
I found them rather pleasent to deal with too. Good manners and a friendly disposition costs nothing but is rare to find in a business these days.

I Hope you get on with your Superspray OK. I have a small half gallon watering can which I use for watering small pots. I fill this straight from the superspray so Im not measuring small amounts of feed and can then gently water the pots.
Now I find my sprayer is alway charged with feed, I need to buy another to use to wash my car with. Try car shampoo for washing the outside greenhouse grass. Not as 'foamy' as washing up liquid.

Good Luck!

Graham (real name!!)

 

[Old Perennial]

After a long time as a Gunna. I have now purchased my second Supersprayer strictly for the car! They sent me the sprayer filled with some new generation car shampoo as a freeby! I need to try that this week end if ive time.

 

[Old Perennial]

Hows the Toms doing Richard?